To the End of the Room ... and Beyond! (Voyage to the End of the Room - Tibor Fischer)

Member Name: Puggers

Product:	Voyage to the End of the Room - Tibor Fischer
Date:	09/03/09 (218 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Witty concept, clever writing.

Disadvantages: Weak characterisation, wandering storyline.

Voyage to the End of the Room is extremely difficult to classify. It's a kind of surreal-travelogue-slash-memoir-cum-black-humoured -detective story - but only kind of. This is the first of this author's books that I've read, so perhaps he's definable only by reference to himself, in the manner of Haruki Murakami, for instance. In any case, the plot is kick-started by the arrival of a letter addressed to our protagonist, Oceane, which simply reads: 'Hello!' and is signed; 'Walter.' The problem here is that Walter is supposed to have been dead for the last ten years.

Oceane is a relatively successful computer graphics designer - comfortably well off, as she calls it. She lives in a nice flat, albeit in a rather seedy area, has plenty of nice possessions and enjoys a decent income. She also likes to travel, although refuses to leave her house if she can help it.
This curious paradox is overcome with the help of her trusty travel agent, who, for an outrageous fee, decorates the spare flat below Oceane suitably, arranges for the chosen destination's cuisine to be served and invites a selection of that land's natives as dinner guests. With a bit of internet-bashing, Oceane is able to immerse herself in the relevant culture to her satisfaction and learn a few choice phrases before visiting the "country" downstairs.

We are taken on something of a meandering journey through our protagonist's eccentric world, gathering an insight into her dissatisfaction with modern London and its people. The freelance nature of her work means she is never forced to leave the house - all of life's necessities can be delivered, pretty much. However, this withdrawn lifestyle can have its drawbacks; one of her past employers hasn't paid her what she is owed, and is continually fobbing her off. Enter Audley, a debt collector, who offers embarrassment, humiliation or total degradation as means by which to recover the arrears - "'I should warn you", he says, "total degradation takes months, years, and is beyond the budget of most customers, and it comes with a health warning. You have to be careful asking for that one. And I undertake work like that only if I'm completely satisfied the debt is grievous.'"

Following a second letter from Walter, Oceane decides to send Audley to track down the mysteries it makes reference to, paying him well for the journey and keeping in contact with him via a video link. However, it is some time before the author allows us to resume this strand of the story - we are instead taken back, first to the days when Oceane did leave the house, working in a sex club in Barcelona, then to Audley's journey to war-torn Yugoslavia some years back.

It is here that the story picks up a bit, although it isn't really going anywhere - we meet a cast of generally mad characters working at the club, Babylon, and get an insight into the curious society that Oceane existed in. The writing is skilfully-crafted, employing a wry, analytical style to bring out the story's humour. Retaining a calm, understated perspective, Fischer adds all the more amusement to the ridiculous situations he creates. As such, events like people being crushed by cows dropping out of the sky take on a sense of normality; the author's manipulation of irony and surrealism make the words skim past smoothly, although the lack of direction can occasionally make it seem like you're going round in circles.

However enjoyable this skilful manipulation of reality is, the well-rendered pieces don't quite add up to a good book in itself. Although the novel is packed with intriguing characters - funny, conceited, often absurd - our heroine isn't one of them. Although the book is told mostly from her first-person perspective, her personality is elusive. Perhaps this in some way correlates with her withdrawn state, but it isn't terribly satisfying - Oceane is something of a sponge, absorbing an awful lot of what goes on around her, but giving little. Early on, she also seems to lack a convincingly feminine voice; although this feels less of a problem as the book goes on, perhaps the author never wholly gets to grips with her.

The writing is a sporadic delight to read, and swings between wonderful humour and interesting insights. However, the finer points of the narration tend to cover up weaknesses in story and characterisation. In addition, the ending is weak - meant perhaps to be clever or, but coming across as abrupt and unsatisfying, failing to deal with a number of interesting threads that had emerged in the story. As a result, it's a poor conclusion to a book that, whilst being entertaining enough to read, isn't likely to linger in the memory. The good bits are a joy to read, but, sadly, there are too many weaknesses to make this a top-notch read.

Summary: Vicarious traveller explores the world and recounts her past.